10 Blizzard Survival Tips For A Safe Winter

Winter is coming! Follow these 10 Blizzard Survival Tips to get through the cold and stormy nights safely.

Blizzard Survival Tips To Get You Through Winter

When the next winter storm hits, be prepared with these blizzard survival tips. You don’t have to be the ultimate prepper to survive a blizzard, but everyone should have a working knowledge of cold weather know how. Watch for whiteout’s and always stay indoors and avoid driving during these types of storms. Get through winter storms this year with these great tips!

1. Insulate Your Pipes

One of the most important things you need during a blizzard is running water. Unfortunately, you can’t have this if you don’t insulate your pipes. Water pipes have a tendency to fr­eeze in temperatures below 20°. If you want to prevent your interior pipes from freezing, cover it with foam insulation.

2. Be Prepared, Technically Speaking

Basic things like paying your electricity bills on time and keeping your cell phone fully charged will matter a lot during a blizzard. Losing electricity before blizzard hits is a big N-O, even to those who are master preppers.

3. Stock Up Your Pantry

Stock up your pantry, fridge, cellar, and other nooks where you normally keep your food in the house. Make sure to include non-perishable food such as canned goods that you don’t have to heat, bread and margarine, fruits and vegetables that can stand being at room temperature for a few days.

If you have pets in your house, it’s also a good idea to stock up on their food so they won’t have to share yours and deplete your food supply faster.

4. Stock Up On Bottled Water

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While it’s possible to have water running from the tap during a blizzard, it’s still a good idea to have clean drinking water on hand. Keep at least 10 gallons of water on hand, more if you have a large number of household members.

5. Prepare An Emergency Kit

Get a box and fill it with some emergency equipment like a flashlight or two with plenty of extra batteries. Include a battery-operated AM/FM radio so you can keep track of weather updates even after the electricity has gone. Keep sleeping bags and wool blankets and kerosene heater with enough fuel for a week of steady use.

If the local weather reports are giving out a warning that a blizzard is going to hit, be sure to charge all of your cell phones before the power goes out. It may be the only means of contact left once electricity and phone lines die, and in the event you need help, you won’t want to be without phone service!

6. Know How To Use An Alternative Form Of Heat

Using the fireplaces and kerosene heaters can be hazardous without the right ventilation. Always make sure that your children are away from any alternative heat source. Practice heating only one room and close off unused rooms in the house. This way you won’t be depleting your fuel and firewood supply like paper on fire.

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7. Watch Out For Frostbite

Frostbite occurs when your skin and body tissues are exposed to cold temperature for a long period of time. You are more likely to develop frostbite if you don’t wear gloves, warm socks or a winter hat. The areas most likely to be affected by frostbite are your fingers toes, ear, nose, chin, and cheeks. Watch out for numbness, tingling, burning, itching, and pale skin that is is very cold to touch, hard, and waxy-looking, as these are signs of superficial frostbite or frostnip.

If freezing continues, deep frostbite may occur. The skin may freeze and harden and appears black and dead. There is also an increased and eventual loss of sensation, swelling and blood blisters.

You can heal frostnip with first-aid remedies, like rewarming the skin. All other frostbite needs medical measures because it can harm skin, tissues, bones, and muscle.

8. Layer Up

Staying warm is critical in the event of a blizzard. Prevent hypothermia from occurring by wearing loose, warm, layered clothing. Wear mittens and layer your socks and a good warm winter blanket to keep all wrap-up and cozy.

And speaking of layering up to keep you warm this beautiful 100% cotton hoodie will surely help you stay warm when the blizzards’ hit. So, better stay warm in style!

9. Keep Active Indoors

Indoor activities such as board games, cards, puzzles and coloring books for smaller children will keep the entire family entertained while you wait out on a storm. No matter what the situation, if you’re stuck in a blizzard, keeping yourself and everyone else entertained will nurture a positive mental attitude and a will to live which are both as important as any survival technique.

10. Lastly, Stay Indoors

High winds and blowing snow can create white-out conditions, making the area zero visibility and making it easy for you to get lost. Traveling in a blizzard is just not a good idea, avoid traveling even the shortest distance during a blizzard.

Want to know more DIY blizzard survival tips? Check out this video from DIY Hip Chicks:

Blizzards are crucial winter storms that produce extreme snowfall, a blast of force winds, below freezing and frequently whiteout conditions. The main thing you can do is to prepare for the blizzard before it hits. So, my fellow homesteaders, take some time to reflect on these tips and be ready when a blizzard hits this winter.

Are these tips helpful? Did I miss any? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Comments

During winter months I always buy extra canned goods, powdered milk, bread, bottled water, and other staples that don’t require heating and will last without power. Actually I do this all year round, a little bit at a time so that the financial requirement is spread out through the year and I have a good stock of necessities for when the storms start to roll in. Don’t forget some sweets! Hard candy and chocolate, packages of hot chocolate, etc can go a long way in keeping everyone’s mood positive along with the cards and board games mentioned in the article. Each car gets a “survival” kit with enough food and water to last at least 3 days and extra warm clothing and a sleeping bag. We live in a mountainous region where it would be easy to slide off the road during a blizzard and not be found right away. Some of my friends laugh but I don’t mind at all. I’d rather carry that kit and never need it than to not carry it and need it one time.

If you live on a farm and have out-buildings like a barn with animals, have it set up so you can run ropes between the buildings and the house so that in white-out times you can get to and fro without getting lost. Be sure to have the rope in place before the blizzard hits.

You beat be to it!! I remember when my mother told me stories about the pioneers, (of which she was a daughter) when it was not uncommon for unfortunate settlers to become lost in the blizzards just trying to get from the house to the barn to attend to the animals. They would be found frozen to death when the storms had passed. Therefore, it became the norm to have a rope to guide them, as visibility became literally zero. A very scary thought.

I loved the article on being prepared for a blizzard. I live in the Alberta Rocky Mountains and we know snow and cold intimately. I would like to add a little tidbit learned the hard way. Keep a shovel or two inside the house, and if possible keep your snow blower in your porch. When it’s -40 celsius and the snow is waist deep, you can’t get to the shed/barn to get them. This may sound like common sense, but the gorgeous firemen that had to rescue us said we’d be surprised how often it happens. So unless you just want to see those hunky firemen, make sure you have the tools to get out your front door.

Your article on being prepared for a blizzard is spot on. Growing up in the Midwest , I have done a lot of these, including putting the snow shovel in doors, (because the only hunks in our fire department was around our firemen’s bellies), and I know people who have had to use ropes to get from place to place so they didn’t get lost in bad conditions. I also know that in cold or hot weather, dehydration can be a big problem and set you up for a bad time, especially in the colder climatrs. In hot weather, it is easy to remember that if you sweat, you have to drink water, ( now days it’s sport drinks ), but in cold weather, a lot of people forget that those layers they have on can make you sweat just as bad. Dehydration can be the precursor to hypothermia, and other things if you are not careful. Most of the time it’s not while the storm is bearing down on you, but afterwards when everyone is digging out trying to get back to a normal routine. Shoveling the sidewalks or drive ways, or checking on your animals and taking care of them, or just playing in the snow after the storm. Most people breath through their mouths instead of their nose in cold weather, even though breathing through your nose is how the body warms up the air before it gets to your lungs. There is much more water loss with this type of breathing than through the nose, which can help speed up a dehydration scenario. So please watch your fluid intake in a blizzard or any other cold situation !!!!!

Great ideas. We have an all electric house and I work for a Diesel service. At home we try to keep extra gas for the generator which will keep the freezer going and two heaters to keep us warm. Unfortunately in those type of conditions at work we have to go out on wrecker and service calls to help stranded truckers. My wife and I are also Hams and work with the local ARES network so that is one more blizzard duty that we enjoy.

Don’t use water bottles! They are bad for the environment, as an alternative, buy either boxed water (Yes they sell those) or water in large glass bottles or reusable tanks. Getting a barrel or drum is inexpensive, reusable, environmentally friendly and is a generally good solution.

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